Built-in uplift for ladies&#39; garment



y 1956 B. GREENSTIEN 2,752,600

BUILT-IN UPLIFT FOR LADIES GARMENT Filed June 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR. GREENSTIEN Armmw July 3, 1956 B. GREENSTIEN -IN UPLIFT FOR LADIES GARMENT BUILT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 25, 1954 lllllullllllllll I INVENTOR. CREENS'I'IEN United States Patent BUILTJN UPLIFT FOR LADIES GARMENT Ben Greenstien, New York, N. Y.

Application June 25, 1954, Serial No. 433,253

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-42) This invention relates to ladies garments, and more particularly has reference to a garment such as a dress, blouse, or other outer garment, having means permanently incorporated therein for shaping and lifting the breasts.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a generally improved means incorporated in any of various types of outer garments, which will comfortably support, lift, mold, and separate properly the breasts, thereby to improve materially the apperance of the wearer.

Another object of importance is to provide means of the nature referred to which will be characterized by its relatively inexpensive design, while at the same time assuring a proper attainment of the main object noted above.

Yet another object of importance is to provide a breast lift means for outer garments which will be automatically adjustable to accommodate itself to the breast size of the \VEQI'CI.

Still another object of importance is to include, in a garment as described, a pair of downwardly divergent uplift bands each of which has an elastic portion, to permit said bands to resiliently stretch when being worn, said bands being so located as to lift the breasts while at the same time separating the same.

Still another object of importance is to include, in combination with the bands. referred to stays so spaced and shaped relative to one another and to said bands as to cooperate with the bands in forming breast pockets or cups that will comfortably support the breasts, while at the same time properly molding the same to a proper shape.

Still another object is to include, in a garment of the type stated, means incorporated in at least one form of the invention whereby the garment can be separated to a selected extent medially between the breasts, to provide a decollet effect.

For further comprehension of the invention and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description. and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a garment designed in accordance with the present invention, as it appears when worn.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the garment, looking at the inside thereof, the garment being opened.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2, the garment being shown as it appears when worn, the body of the wearer being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, detailed sectional view substantially on line 44 of Fig. 2', showing one of the stays in transverse section.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view of 'ice a modified form, the garment being seen from the inside.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view, still further enlarged, taken substantially on line 7--7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 88 of Fig. 6.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally in the several figures of the drawing to an outer garment designed in accordance with present invention. In the illustrated example, the garment is shown as a dress of the strapless type, butthe garment could be a blouse, evening gown, or any other type of outer garment. worn by women.

In any event, the outer garment constituting the present invention is provided, in the illustrated example, with front panels 12 having their inner longitudinal edges. in contact down the front of the dress, medially between the opposite sides of the dress, said contacting inner longitudinal edges being stitched together. The panels 12 can be so shaped as to properly fit the form of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 1, and Since a so-called one piece. dress is shown, the panels 12 extend fully to the hem line of the garment.

Stitched'to the outer longitudinal edges of the front panels 12 are side panels 14, and stitched to the. outer longitudinal edges of said side panels 14 are back panels 16. The back panels 16 can be provided with slide fastener means 17, whereby the dress can be opened down the back when it is to be put on or taken off.

The front and side panels 12, 1.4, at their upper ends, extend over the breasts of the wearer, and are. so shaped as to provide breast pockets 18. The front and side panels, as shown in- Fig. 2, are rounded or somewhat pointed at their upper ends, as at 20, to provide a V-shaped portion medially between the breasts, at 0pposite sides of which V-shaped portion there are provided upwardly bowed or substantially pointed portions as shown in Figs, 1 and 2.

If desired, the upper end of the dress can be provided with a length of trim as at 22, but this isnot essential by any means to the successful carrying out of the invention.

Preferably, inside the dress, a length of upper binding 24 is stitched to and extends transversely of the several panels 12, 14, said binding 24 being disposed just below the upper edge of the dress. The binding 24 is in two pieces meeting at the V-shaped center of the garment as shown in Fig. 2. The bindings 2 4 terminate, at their outer ends, at the outer longitudinal edges of the side panels 14.

A single binding 26 is provided below the breast pockets, said single binding extending transversely of the several panels 12, 14, and terminating at the outer longitudinal edges of the panels 14 as shown in Fig. 2.

The bindings 24, 26 cooperate to reinforce the construction above and below the breast pockets, and said lengths of binding can be ordinary cloth tape material stitched to the several panels. 1

Extending between the upper and lower binding strips 24, 26 are stays 28, 30, 32, 34, and 36. As will be noted, a single stay 36 is provided, said stay extending downwardly from the midlength point of the upper binding 24, and terminating at the midlength point of the lower binding 26, the stay 36 thus extending medially between the breast pockets. The stays 34 are disposed at opposite sides of the stay 36, and have substantially straight lower end portions that. are in approximately parallel, spaced relation to the single stay 36. The upper end portions of the stays 34 diverge in an upward direction along curving lines, terminating at the apex locations of the pointed upper ends of the breast pockets.

Stays 32,- at their lower ends, are approximately straight,

but like-the stays 34, have curved upper ends. The curved upper ends of the stays 32, however, converge in an upward direction, terminating at the upper binding strip 24. The stays 32, 34, when the garment is worn, serve to 'pr'opetlymold the breasts, and further, said stays serve to hold the garment up when the garment is of the strap less type such as shown in Fig. l.

Stays 30, 28 are all of straight formation from end to end,the stays 28 extending along the'outer longitudinal edges of the side panels 14, and the stays 30 extending midway between the stays 28 and 32. The several stays are all of identical formation, so far as their basic construction is concerned, and as shown in Fig. 4, each stay is attached to the garment by longitudinal lines of stitching extending along opposite side edges of the stay. As shown in Fig. 4, the illustrated garment can comprise an outeror facing piece 38, and an inner piece 40, the stay including a cloth strip 42 stitched to the piece 40. The cloth strip 42 and piece 40 cooperate to define a tubular member, in which is positioned a stay element 44' of a material such as plastic, metal, or the: like. The lines of stitching extending along opposite sides of the strip '42 have been designated by the reference numeral 46.

Connected to the inside of a garment, and extending transversely of the breast pockets 18 adjacent the lower ends of said breast pockets, are uplift bands 48. The uplift bands 48, at their inner ends, are stitched or otherwise secured to the upper end of the stay 36, immediately below the V-shaped center portion of the garment. The outer ends of the bands 48 are attached to elastic members 50, and said members 50 are secured to the outer longitudinal edges of the side panels 14. The bands 48,

through the stiffener and through the lapping portions of the folded piece of cloth material, to complete the construction of the band.

In use of the garment, a conventional brassiere can be dispensed with entirely, and the garment, when put on, will properly mold, separate, and lift the breasts, in the manner shown in'Fig. 3. When the garment is worn, the elastic members 50 are resiliently stretched, and tend to straighten out the cloth bands 48, so that said bands tend to extend diagonally across the lower areas of the breast pockets. In this way, the cross bands are positioned to provide shelf-like elements on which the breasts are supported, thus to lift the breasts when said breasts are of a pendulous nature. Further, the stays cooperate with the bands in molding the uplifted breasts, the stays being spaced forwardly from the resiliently stretched uplift bands. Still further, since the uplift bands have downwardly divergent inner end portions, said bands, when stretched, will tend to diverge downwardly over a substantial part of their length, thus causing the breasts supported thereby to be shifted laterally outwardly from one another, assuring a proper breast separation and adding to the attractive appearance deriving from use of the uplift band.

No stay elements or stiffener members are enclosed within the transversely extending upper and lower binding strips 24, 26, in the preferred embodiment of the in vention.

In Figs. 68 there is shown a modified form which, so far as the breast uplifting and molding structure is concerned, is identical to the first form. Thus, the stays 32, 34 and the uplift bands 48 are retained, as are the other stays 28, 30. In this form of the invention the front panels have been designated 12, and are connected to side panels 14 formed as in the first embodiment.

The front panels 12 differ from the panels 12, however, in that the panels 12 at the apex of the V-shaped center portion of the garment, have inwardly turned edge portions 52, tacked together by spaced, single stitches 54. Each stitch 54 can be pulled out independently of the remaining stitches 54. The edge portions 52, that are tacked together in the manner illustrated, extend a short distance from the apex of the V-shaped portion to the upper ends of the bands 48, as shown in Fig. 6. The inner ends of the lengths of binding strip material 24 are connected separately to the associated front panels 12, so that when the front panels 12 are separated where they are tacked together, the strips 24 will still be stitched at their inner ends to said front panels 12 In use of this form of the garment, the stitches 54 can all be left closed as shown. Ifhowever, a decollet eifect is desired, the uppermost stitch 54 can be removed, thus causing the V-neck to open at'a lower point than when all the stitches 54 are left in. If still further dec olletage is desired, the next stitch 54 can be removed, and if a still lower neck line is desired, the lowermost stitch can be taken out.

The uplift bands, of course, will still function in the same manner as in the first form of the invention, since they will be stitched together to the upper end of the center stay 36. The center stay 36 differs from the stay 36 only in that it is somewhat shorter, the stay 36 terminating at the location of its connection. to the bands 48, as distinguished from the stay 36, which extends fully to the apex of the V-shaped portion of the garment.

..While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended. claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to'secure'by United States Letters Patent 1. In a garment, a portion including a pair of breast pockets, stay means in said portion for shaping said pockets, and a pair of uplift bands having inner ends connected to said portion medially between the breast pockets and intermediate the vertical length of the breast pockets, and having outer ends connected to said portion at the outer sides of the breast pockets, said bands being adapted to extend under the ,breasts' of a wearer to lift and support the same in the pockets, said bands including elastic portions, whereby to permit said bands to be resiliently stretched when in breast-supporting position, the bands meeting at their inner ends, said bands diverging downwardly in a direction away. from said meeting inner ends thereof, said portion including aninterchangeable V-shaped center part medially between the breast pockets, the inner ends of the bands meeting at the apex of said center part, said V-shaped part being adjustably separable at the'apex thereof to change the style of the garment.

2. In a garment, front and side panels, a portion formed in said panels including a pair of breast pockets, stay means in said portion for shaping said pockets, and a pair of uplift bands having inner ends connected to said portionmedially betweern the, breastpockets and intermediate the vertical length of the breast pockets, and having outer ends connected to said portion at the outer sides of the breast pockets, said bands being adapted to extend under the breasts of a wearer to lift and support the same in the pockets, said bands including elastic portions, whereby to permit said bands to be resiliently stretched when in breast-supporting position, the bands meetingat their inner ends, said bands diverging'downwardly in a direction awayfrom said meeting inner ends 5 6 thereof, said portion including an interchangeable V- References Cited in the file of this patent shaped center part medially between the breast pockets, the inner ends of the bands meeting at the apex of said UNITED STATES PATENTS center part, said \/-shaped part being adjustably sep- 2,448,919 Shulman Sept. 7, 1948 arable at the apex thereof, said front panels having in- 5 2,612,642 Robins Oct. 7, 1952 wardly turned edge portions and a plurality of spaced 2,650,363 Lo Cascio Sept. 1, 1953 stitches through said edge portions extending in a line from said apex of the V-shaped part, each of said FOREIGN PATENTS stitches being removable independently of the remaining 570,505 Great Britain July 10, 1945 stitches for adjustably opening the V-shaped part to 10 259,808

Swtzerland Jul 1, 1949 change the style of the garment. 1 y 

